The long-awaited nuclear renaissance appears to be closer to reality. The Obama administration continues to send strong signals of support for nuclear power as part of the nation’s “clean-energy” future. On Feb. 16, the administration announced the first-ever $8.5 billion loan guarantee for a new nuclear plant and said it had introduced plans to triple the amount of nuclear loan guarantees in the fiscal 2011 budget.
The loan guarantees to Atlanta-based Southern Co. and its partners for two new units at the Vogtle plant, in Burke, Ga., are offered by the Dept. of Energy through its loan guarantee program, established under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. DOE Secretary Steven Chu says the initial loan guarantees are the first “but not the last,” and that $10 billion remains to support additional projects.